


Forgotten but Not Gone

by Zetal (Rodinia)



Series: Castiel Bingo [6]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M, Referenced Torture, bad memories, heaven's jail, in both senses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-10-21 02:01:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20685644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rodinia/pseuds/Zetal
Summary: Sam follows a desperate prayer back to its source, finding out that Heaven has a jail and some of the same problems of the humans' justice systems.





	Forgotten but Not Gone

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Heaven and Hell Bingo  
Square: Gadreel
> 
> Written for Rare Ship Bingo  
Square: Gadreel
> 
> Written for SPN Genre Bingo  
Square: Heaven
> 
> Written for Castiel Bingo  
Square: Amnesia
> 
> Prompt:  
"Would you ever write a fic where the Boy With The Angel Blood hears the faint and desperate prayers of the former Sentinel of Eden and rescues Gadreel from Thaddeus before interceding on his behalf to the Archangels?"

Sam had never thought of himself as having a fear of flying. That was Dean, and he’d teased Dean mercilessly about it. Sure, planes crashed, but given all the other ways the two of them took their lives into their hands on a regular basis, that hardly seemed worth getting bothered about. 

Of course, that was on a plane, with someone who knew what he was doing at the helm.

This was different. This was putting the wings he’d grown as he became a Nephilim to use. He had no idea what he was doing, and although Castiel and Gabriel were there to talk him through it and keep him from hurting himself when he messed up, it was still terrifying. For one thing, there was a distinct lack of comfort in that “when”.

Still, he’d been gaining confidence, and now he had the basics down. He would still rather drive or fly conventionally, but couldn’t argue that angelic flight was a lot quicker and would be useful for hunting. Or for getting time away from Dean where he and Cas could engage in far more human forms of entertainment without having to worry about interruptions.

One of the powers that hadn’t come back, much to Sam’s gratitude, was the visions. He’d learned to manage the angel communications and prayers he could hear. This one shouldn’t be any different, but it was. The desperation in it was enough to distract Sam to the point where he fell out of the sky.

Castiel catching him wasn’t a surprise, but Sam felt the need to go investigate this. Getting to Heaven was still something he was struggling with. Gabriel’s theory was that on some level Sam still believed he didn’t belong there after nearly freeing Lucifer, somehow, despite being adopted into the Host. Sam couldn’t argue with that, but right now, it didn’t matter.

He looked to Castiel in confusion when he landed. It looked like a prison, but this was Heaven. “Where are we?” Castiel had drawn in on himself, trying to make himself as small as possible. That made it even worse. “If you don’t wanna be here, go on back, Cas. Sorry if this is bringing up bad memories.”

“That’s the thing. I’ve never been here,” Castiel whispered. “I have no idea why I’m so afraid of this place. This is Heaven’s jail, for angels who get too far out of line to wait until Naomi’s ready to correct them.”

Sam shivered, but went looking for the source of the distressed prayer. It seemed odd that he’d gotten a prayer from Heaven, but why not? Nothing else had made sense until retrospect kicked in. He followed the desperation to its source.

There were three angels – one, surrounded by a dark pink halo who felt like rusted iron that Sam flinched from, another with a dark blue halo who felt like a room full of lit candles, and the third surrounded by a pale blue halo who felt like a hot summer wind. The wind was the one with the desperation, made obvious by the knife in the rusted angel’s hand and the implements on a tray beside him. Sam looked to Castiel.

“Gadreel,” Castiel whispered. “The Sentinel of Eden, the one who allowed the serpent in to corrupt Eve. Punished for his failure.”

“Like this? For… what, that’s six thousand years?” Sam thought he just might be sick. “Even the souls in Hell get off after a while, once their humanity’s gone and they become demons. Who’s the other guy?”

“Abner. He abandoned his post.” Castiel frowned. “I know why Gadreel hasn’t been taken to Naomi, but I don’t understand Abner still being here. That was seven hundred years ago. Naomi hasn’t been that busy, surely.”

The worst that could happen is that Michael decided to smite him, Sam decided. He strode up to the torturer and took the knife from him. “That’s enough.”

“Who…” he trailed off as he caught sight of Castiel and started laughing. “You again? Good lord, Castiel, what did you do this time?” He turned his attention back to Sam and the laughter grew stronger. “Oh! Oh my god. You created a Nephilim. Naomi must be having kittens!”

Castiel stared. “I’ve never been here, Thaddeus. What do you mean, ‘this time’?”

“The absolute best part of getting you down here is that Naomi keeps wiping your memory, since you’re supposed to be a respectable commander,” Thaddeus chortled. “Aside from Gadreel here, you’re probably the angel I’ve spent the most time with! Not in a row, not like Abner, but adding it all up…”

Castiel was about to protest, but Sam put a hand on his arm. “That would explain why this place scares you so much,” he said softly. “Come on, I want to talk to Michael.”

Sam brought Gadreel and Abner with him to the meeting. Raphael took one look at Gadreel and rounded on Michael. “I told you this was too much. This should not have ever been allowed.”

Michael ignored him and Gadreel to focus on Abner. “What happened to you? You look terrible.”

“Thaddeus figured you forgot about me after the first fifty years of my captivity,” Abner said. “Since I’d been forgotten, he didn’t see any need to curtail his curiosity.”

From the look on Michael’s face, that was exactly what had happened. A pointed look from Raphael, and Michael got even paler. “Seven hundred years. We left you there for far too long. Raphael, take charge of Abner, do whatever it takes to make this right.”

Raphael moved to stand beside Abner, but made no move to leave. Abner, too, showed no inclination to go begin his healing. “What about Gadreel? He’s been down there way longer than me, with no reason for Thaddeus to hold back on him, either.”

Michael opened his mouth, but Sam cut him off. “He made a mistake. A bad one. Don’t you think six thousand years is enough to say he’s paid for it?”

Before Michael could unleash the fury Sam could feel from him, Raphael reached out with a wing. “It should never have been that long. Or are you going to throw yourself down there, and me with you, for the mistake we made in allowing Lilith to walk the Earth before the appointed time?”

Michael stared for so long that everyone was starting to get uncomfortable, but then he deflated. “You’re right. Gadreel, you’re free to go. I’d say resume your duties, but Eden no longer needs a sentinel. We’ll find something.”

“How about assigning him to keep an eye on the jail?” Sam suggested. “Not that I’m suggesting he ever have to go back there, but make sure that no one else is left down there the way he and Abner were.”

“No,” Raphael said. “That job requires someone for whom the jail holds no trauma, so that they can visit as needed to keep a proper eye on Thaddeus.” He looked to Michael. “Any ideas?”

“Ezekiel. He’s one of the most honorable, and Gadreel can take his current role of demon tracking.”

“Excellent. A far more fitting reaction to begin with, help clean up the mess created by his mistake,” Raphael said. “Sam? Any further concerns?”

“No.” The change in Raphael from the first time the two had met was stunning. “I should probably get back home.”

“Before you go.” Sam refurled the wings he’d already spread open at Michael’s words. “Sam, it’s high time you get an official role within the host as well. In some cultures, there are positions specifically for calling out a superior when they’re making bad decisions, to get around cultural taboo about contradicting a superior. I’m concerned that attitude may be too prevalent around here. You’re already an outsider; it won’t hurt your reputation the way it would, for example, Castiel’s, for you to perform that job.”

Sam blinked a couple times. “So you want me to be Heaven’s court jester?”

“Don’t worry, no one expects you to wear any kind of jester or clown costume,” Michael deadpanned. “Entertaining us will also not be part of your job description. But yes, essentially, I want you to be the person who can speak truth to authority without fear.”

Sam’s first instinct was to say no – who would want that job? What if Michael or Raphael forgot that he was supposed to be immune? Then again, he didn’t have the job yet, and they weren’t complaining about his handling of the Gadreel and Abner situation. “Fair enough. Consider me hired.”

“Good. Now go on.”

“One moment, please?” Gadreel interrupted. Sam once again refurled his wings. “I don’t know how you knew to come, but thank you. I was resigned to eternity down there, but Abner didn’t deserve it. I’ve been trying for hundreds of years to get someone’s attention, but no one would ever come.”

“You’re welcome. You didn’t deserve it either, you know,” Sam said. “I’m just glad you’re both out.”

"Me too. The only downside to Abner getting out without me was that our shared suffering had become a strong bond. With us both free, once we've had some time to recover from the trauma, I hope to pursue becoming a mated pair." Gadreel looked over to Abner as he was being examined by Raphael. "I never dreamed of being freed myself. Thank you for giving me this opportunity."

"You're welcome." On impulse, Sam reached out and hugged Gadreel. "I hope things work out for you two."


End file.
